


memory and heart

by FaeriArchive (FaeriMagic)



Series: Calculator Chronicles [4]
Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Gen, Old work, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-16 21:26:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19326409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaeriMagic/pseuds/FaeriArchive
Summary: This is an old work that does not reflect my current writing.





	memory and heart

**Author's Note:**

> This story, originally named FAN1, was written on a calculator back when I was in high school. I think I intended for this to be a serious fanfic, but there are some problematic tone shifts that are really jarring. It's baddd, ahaha!
> 
> It started out okay, but halfway through the writing became an absolute mess oof. Huh? Scene transition? Who's that???
> 
> Songs that I took inspiration from will be credited at the bottom.

"Are the androids complete?" asked Kaito. 

"95 percent complete," said Meiko. 

Len glanced at the two robots curiously. 

One had long aqua hair and the other had short yellow hair like himself. 

"Batteries are fully charged," said Meiko. 

"Watch and learn, Len. You are about to see a miracle." Kaito said to Len. "Begin startup." He instructed to Meiko. 

Meiko nodded and punched in the activation code. 

Lights of blue and yellow electricity began to travel along the wires connected to the androids. 

Slowly, their eyes began to open. 

The aqua haired one seemed slightly bewildered as if she didn't know where she was. 

Kaito strode towards the androids. 

"I am Shion Kaito," Kaito said clearly. 

The aqua haired android straightened her posture. 

"Hello, Kaito-san." She said. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She said, bowing as far as the wires could allow her. 

"Wow..." Len said with awe. 

The aqua-haired one had a pretty voice. 

"Your name will be... Hatsune Miku." Kaito said. 

"Hatsune... Miku..." She said, testing the word in her mouth. "I am Hatsune Miku!" She said with glee. 

"How is the growth program?" Kaito called to Meiko. 

"She is learning at a steady pace." 

Kaito began the wireless setup. The wires would get in the way of motion, so removing them would be necessary. 

He began fiddling with the headphones on Miku's head. 

Len could see a slight blush crawl on Miku's face. 

"Wireless is set. Begin releasing the wires." 

Meiko pressed a few buttons and with a hiss, the wires attached to Miku's headbands, sleeves, and shoes dropped off. 

Miku experimentally moved her arms around. 

"It feels nice." She said happily. 

"Success," Meiko said, with relief. 

Kaito nodded with his approval. He moved on to the next android. 

She had been watching the entire thing quietly. 

Kaito bent down to her eye level and said: "And do you know who I am?"  

"You are Kaito-niisama."  

"Correct. And do you know who you are?" 

The girl didn't respond because she didn't know. 

"Len. Come here."  

Slightly surprised, Len got up and walked over to Kaito. 

"You," Kaito said to the android. "shall be Kagamine Rin. Kagamine Len's sister." Kaito enunciated. It was crucial that the androids learned things correctly. 

"My sister??" Len said. 

Rin faced Len. 

"You are my brother." She said. "I am Kagamine Rin. We are siblings. We are family." Her voice was expressionless. 

Len himself thought she was creepy. This thing was supposed to be his sister? 

Kaito frowned. Something was wrong. 

He checked the headphones again. 

"Body system, stable. Mind system, stable. KOKORO... not working." Kaito looked toward Meiko. "Do we have another KOKORO?" 

"That one isn't working?" 

"No." 

"We only had two copies of the KOKORO program," Meiko said sadly. The KOKORO programs were remnants of the research done by Kaito's father. However, all of the research regarding the KOKORO programs was destroyed before he died. 

It was by pure luck that Meiko found two copies of the KOKORO programs in one of the drawers of the desk of Kaito's father. 

It was pure misfortune that one of them malfunctioned. 

Kaito gripped his head in frustration. 

"KOKORO?" asked Len. 

"Yes. In other words, she does not have a heart." Meiko said. 

Kaito walked back to his computer. 

"Shion-kun?" Meiko asked softly.  

"If she doesn't have a KOKORO, I'll make her one," Kaito said. 

Meiko could see the determination in his eyes. 

She smiled, though she didn't know why. 

"Of course, Shion-san." She said. 

Rin tried to process what this meant. 

"I lack a KOKORO...? I lack a heart...? "  

Len was struck with guilt. It wasn't her fault that she was emotionless. 

"Don't worry, we are going to make a new one, a better one for you." He said. 

* * *

 

Miku liked the little boy of golden hair. He was like a little brother to her. 

But whenever Kaito, her creator, tuned her up, her system began to heat up ever so slightly, and her motors whirred a bit more loudly, though Kaito-san never seemed to notice. 

She didn't know why this happened. It probably wasn't important. 

"If Kaito-sama isn't worried, then I shouldn't be worried." She told herself. She never called him Kaito-sama in front of him, or even Kaito-kun, or even Kaito. She always called him –san, and nothing more or less than –san.  

Miku stopped walking. 

What was that sound again? Oh yes, that's right. A piano. It was Len, and his emotionless android sister, Rin. 

"What is that?" asked Rin. 

"It's a piano," Miku said as she walked into the sound room. 

"Pee-an-no...?" Asked Rin. 

"Yes. When you hit the keys..." Len played a few notes. "… You can hear different notes." 

Rin touched the piano, and a "D" note was heard.  

"Why?" 

"Why?" 

"Why is that important?" Rin said. It didn't save lives. It didn't make money. What was so important about a piano? 

"People enjoy it."  

"When a person enjoys it, they are happy." Said Miku. 

Rin still could not comprehend this fact. 

"It's pointless." She said. 

Len frowned.  

Miku shook her head. She will sing for Rin, and perhaps Rin will understand. Miku opened her mouth. 

" _Sakasama dayo rainbow..._ " 

Shades of black and grey.    
Swirls of spinning vertigo.    
Inverse...    
Reverse...    
A Curse... 

Miku was on her knees, Len looked worried. "Where am I?" She asked. 

* * *

 

The alarm went on. 

 _What is it this time?_  Meiko thought as she pulled out her cell phone. She and Kaito were on their lunch break so she was slightly annoyed by the interruption. 

She widened her eyes. 

"Shion-san! Miku has blacked out!" 

"Where is she?" Kaito demanded. 

"According to the sensors, she is inside the sound room with Rin." 

"How are the systems?"  

"Everything's unstable!" 

The alarm suddenly stopped. 

"Ara? She's conscious again..." Meiko said. She checked systems again to make sure everything was alright. 

"KOKORO is working, body system is 'dizzy', but ok. Memory system..." Meiko trailed off. "Shion-san, some gigabytes have been deleted!"  

"Gigabytes?? How? How much memory does she have left??" 

"I don't know. None of the important memories have been deleted, though." Meiko bit her lip. Something was wrong, and she didn't know what. 

* * *

 

Miku stood up. Where in the world was she? She didn't recognize her surroundings. 

"Where are we, Len?" 

"In the sound room." 

"Sound room?" This facility had a sound room? 

There was a strange contraption that she had never seen before. 

She placed a finger on it, and a small noise was uttered. 

She giggled. 

"What is this?" She said. 

"It's a piano," Rin said. 

"A Pee-ah-no?" 

Len was now worried. 

"Miku-san, are you alright?" 

Miku smiled. 

* * *

 

"I'm fine." She said.  

"I'm your creator, and I say you are not fine," Kaito said. 

Miku's memory had suddenly decreased, for some odd and unknown reason. 

Kaito stood behind Meiko and began to scan the system readings. 

"The KOKORO is conflicting with the mind system. Because of that, the body system is having glitches." Meiko reported nervously. 

"The conflicts seem interconnected between the mind-system and the KOKORO. They're centered on the most sensitive areas of both the KOKORO and the mind system. Even if we just go near it, it will cause a massive disruption on the flow of energy." Kaito said. 

"So what can we do?" 

Kaito sat down and grasped his head in frustration. 

"Dammit. Two worthless pieces of KOKORO." One disrupted the mind, the other barely did anything. 

Kaito switched on his computer and began typing furiously. 

"We will continue remaking the KOKOROs. Miku and Rin will have to make do with their current KOKORO until a better one is developed." 

Meiko watched him. It was just so inspiring to see him so determined like that. 

She turned her head to her own computer. She had her own part to do. 

 

Miku closed her eyes and held onto her headphones. It seemed as if her KOKORO was malfunctioning. 

"My heart is malfunctioning." She said to Rin later. 

"Big deal. Mine doesn't even work." 

 

* * *

 

The memory lapses continued. Sometimes, Miku forgot what her name was. She even forgot who Meiko was once, though that was easily solved. 

There were times when Miku even forgot that she even forgot things. Those were blissful times. 

But she always remembered Kaito, her creator, and she always remembered Len and Rin. 

 

Rin felt unneeded. She knew Kaito and Meiko saw her as valuable, but it was probably because she was a test subject. 

What she didn't understand was why Len, her brother, kept on hoping for her to have a KOKORO. She didn't get it. 

Sure, they were "family", but why was he trying so hard? It didn't give any benefits at all. 

 

* * *

 

Kaito was heading out. The KOKOROs were almost complete. All he needed was a source of energy, a nontraditional source of energy. Electricity didn't seem compatible with the KOKOROs, so there was only one option left. 

Nuclear energy. 

 

"Nuclear???" Meiko said. 

"Yes." 

Meiko looked down. "I suppose it's necessary." She said quietly. 

Kaito patted her shoulder. "No worries, I'll be okay." He smiled. 

Meiko smiled weakly. 

"Of course you will." She said, but she still felt uneasy. 

Kaito left for the nuclear facility soon afterwards. 

 

It was an hour later when the world began to shake. 

 

"Earthquake!!" Len yelled. 

Miku tried to stand. "Rin, take care of Len!" She said while dodging falling debris. The piano began howling off-tune notes. "I'll go and find Kaito and Meiko."  

Rin nodded. She knew that this situation was dangerous. It was her duty to protect Len, her brother, from all harm. 

 

"Kaito-san!" Miku yelled. "Meiko-san!" 

"Mi..ku..." Said a voice. 

"Meiko-san!" Miku yelled. 

"I'm under... the desk..." Meiko coughed. Miku rushed over and freed Meiko from the debris. 

"Where is Kaito-san?" Miku said worriedly. 

"He went to the nuclear power plant an hour ago," Meiko said. Even so, Shion-kun would be fine. After all, he promised that he would be okay. 

"Where are Rin and Len?" 

"I left them in the sound room," Miku said. She had no worries about Kaito: the power plant should be able to handle this level of an earthquake.  

Meiko shakily stood up. 

"We must see if they're all right," Meiko said. 

 

* * *

 

"Did you sustain any injuries, Len?" Rin asked. 

"N-no, I'm fine." 

"That is good," Rin said. 

"Look!" Len pointed. "It's Miku! And she has Meiko with her!" 

Meiko carefully maneuvered her way to the siblings. 

"I'm so glad that you two are okay," Meiko said. 

"Where is Kaito-san?"  

"He's at a nuclear power plant, but he'll be fine." 

Rin said nothing. The earthquake that just happened was dangerous, but the power plant should have been able to handle it. However, her sensors were picking up a much larger threat. 

"Get down!" Rin yelled as the world began to shake once again, this time with a force stronger than the last. 

Len and Meiko held each other tightly while Miku and Rin defended them against the falling debris. 

When the earth was still again, the two androids faced Meiko. 

"Take me to the nuclear reactor." They said. 

 

* * *

 

Kaito is fine. 

Kaito is fine. 

Kaito is fine. 

This was what Meiko told herself while driving to the nuclear plant. 

She didn't let herself think otherwise.  

She couldn't.  

She had no reason to despair. 

Everyone was fine. Kaito was fine. He promised. 

 

Miku peered out of the window anxiously. She had seen the nuclear plant fall with her own eyes. If only she hadn't accessed the internet from her robotic body.  

If only she was human.  

She pressed her head against the window. If only she was human, she might have felt some hope. Then again, Kaito may have survived. After all, miracles happen every day. She herself was a miracle. 

 

The car stopped and Rin and Miku climbed out. 

"Rin, stay here." 

"What?"   
"Protect Meiko and Len in case there are any aftershocks."  

"And you are just going to save Kaito yourself?" 

Miku closed her eyes.    
"Do you know where he is, Rin?" 

"Not his exact location." 

"I know where he is," Miku said. And she did know. She didn't know how, but she knew where Kaito was. 

"Hurry then, Miku," Rin said. If Miku knew where he was, she'd just get in the way. 

Miku nodded and began running into the plant. 

 

Kaito gasped for breath. His leg felt like it was on fire. 

He could feel something hot and sticky crawl over his body.  

But he couldn't move. The shards of glass continued to bite him. 

"..Ai...su..." said a voice. 

Kaito opened his eyes. It took a minute for the blurry figure to become clear. 

"...Miku.." 

"Are you alright, Kaito-san?" She said. 

Kaito opened his mouth to speak, only to feel a heavy, dark weight on his chest. 

Death. 

"Miku.."  

"Yes, Kaito-san?" 

"My briefcase..." 

Miku grabbed the briefcase that laid a couple of feet away. 

"This one?" 

"I couldn’t make it... the KOKOROs... I'm sorry." 

Miku began to cry, which was an odd experience because she never cried before. 

"Baka... what are you apologizing for? You're not going to die. Meiko needs you. I need you." I love you. 

How could that be? Was it possible that she, a robot, loved Kaito? What kind of blasphemy was that? 

"I... love...you.." She said. It sounded so odd. _But, I guess it's true._ She thought bitterly. 

But Kaito didn't hear. All he could think of was I'm sorry....I'm sorry... I'm sorry... 

"I'm sorry..... I … have to leave... you now..." 

 

She failed. Kaito was dead. And just when she realized the truth about herself.  

Her mind began to twist once more. 

"No.." Miku said, recognizing it. "No..." She said with desperation. 

 

* * *

 

There was a dead, blue-haired man on the ground. Miku trembled in fear. 

She had no idea where she was. All she knew was that she had to get the briefcase to Meiko as soon as possible. 

And yet, she had the oddest feeling that she knew that blue-haired man, but from where she didn't know. 

She stood up. She had to get out of here and get back to Meiko. 

 

Rin saw Miku come out alone.  

She frowned. 

The idiot did say she sensed Kaito, didn't she? So where was he? Even if he was dead, at least bring out his corpse so he could receive a proper burial. 

"Did you find Kaito?" Meiko asked anxiously. 

Miku stared at her. "Who?" 

Meiko staggered. It was the memory lapse again. 

"Miku, did you see a man with blue hair anywhere?" 

Miku tried to think. "Yeah, but he was dead. Why?" 

Meiko sank to the ground. 

"No way... he promised." She said. 

 

* * *

 

They were back at the laboratory.   
Miku winced. Her head was hurting so badly. 

And why was Meiko so concerned about the blue-haired stranger? Miku didn't understand. It was probably her memory again. 

She hated forgetting things. 

 

Meiko threw the briefcase to the wall. Papers and two disks clattered out. 

Miku sensed a mess, so she began to clean the mess up. 

Meiko struggled to keep composure, but the misery couldn't be contained.  

She began to cry. 

 _Why, Kaito?_ She thought. _Why??_

Her eyes wandered around the room.  

_So many memories..._

There, Kaito's coffee mug.  

His chair. 

The step he always tripped over.  

So many painful memories.  

Meiko traced a finger over the computer. 

Kaito's life's work was all in here. 

The computer suddenly issued a warning. 

**WARNING WARNING SYSTEM OVERLOAD**

_Kaito's work!_  Meiko thought with alarm as she scanned the warning. 

 

Miku was completely overwhelmed. This world... Everything... She couldn't take everything in.. 

"Miku, are you alright?" Len asked with alarm. "I'll get Meiko.." 

"Meiko... Who's Meiko...?" Miku said. "Len... Rin..." She didn’t have much longer. 

Meiko ran to Miku. "Where is the briefcase?" 

"Brief... case?" Miku said. 

"The briefcase! The KOKOROs!"  

"Here," Rin said, handing a disk to Meiko. 

Meiko quickly went to insert the disc into a machine and hooked Miku to it. 

Miku began to scream. 

So much information into her small memory units! She could feel her CPU crack. 

And all she had left in her head were Len, Rin, and a single song comprised of her last traces as Hatsune Miku. 

"Anata ga... tsukuru kono haamonii. 

Watashi wa zutto wasurenai. 

Hitori ja mirenai yume wo... 

Anata to zutto mite itai..

Zutto... zutto... zutto... 

hanaretakunai... 

itsuka.. kitto... 

kono omoi... 

anata ni... 

todoke..." 

As the last note faded, she smiled at Rin and Len. Her voice box shorted, but she still had something to say. 

 _Arigato,_ she mouthed, and with a sigh, she shut down. 

 

* * *

 

Meiko had soon confiscated the remaining KOKORO after Miku shut down. 

She was utterly ashamed of herself.  

"Gomen ne, Kaito. I couldn't save your work." She said sadly. _I couldn't save you._  

 

Rin wondered about the KOKORO. _Her_  KOKORO.  

She had a good memory, far better than Miku's. Rin calculated that she could handle the KOKORO better. 

The only problem was to obtain it. 

"Len. Can you distract Meiko for a few minutes?"  

"Why?" 

"It's a secret." 

"I dunno..."  

"I'll give you some bananas later." She bribed. 

"Okay. How shall I do it?" 

"Maybe you can do cosplay. Meiko loves those." 

"No way," Len said. No way was he ever cosplaying. 

"You saw how down Meiko was," Rin said, trying the guilt card. "It'd cheer her up."  

Len pouted. 

"Well... it better be a lot of bananas." He said grudgingly. 

 

* * *

 

"Len?" Meiko said. 

"Ya?"  

"Why are you in a Pikachu suit?"  

"N-no reason." 

Meiko smiled. She couldn't help it. It's just that Len looked so... adorable. 

She forgot all about her bad mood as she grabbed her camera and snapped a multitude of pictures. 

Len sighed as he led Meiko away from her work. 

 _These pictures had better not end up on Facebook._ He thought grimly. 

 

With Meiko out of the way, Rin could easily look at the KOKORO on the computer. 

She clicked the program. 

 _So that's what laughter and happiness are._ Rin thought. 

_So that is what tears are._

Anger, surprise, she soon learned what all these things are. 

She learned how to love. 

Rin closed her eyes. So this is what a KOKORO was. 

 

"So tell me, Len. What caused you to suddenly change into a Pikachu?" Meiko giggled. 

"Rin asked me to."

Meiko's smile disappeared. 

"Rin?" She said. Did she leave Rin alone? With the computer?? 

With the KOKORO?? 

"We need to get back." She said as she started to run. 

 

The door opened. 

"Meiko," Rin said happily. 

Meiko didn't notice her. All she saw was that the KOKORO program was open. 

"How could you open it??" Meiko yelled. Now Rin, her last connection to Kaito, will disappear. 

"Meiko, Len. I know what life is now." There was a pleasant warmness inside of her. A large warmth. 

 

"It seems I have miscalculated," Rin said. "The KOKORO program is far larger than I thought." 

"No.. Wait," Len said. "Does that mean you'll be like Miku??" He didn't want his sister to end like that. 

Rin walked over to Miku, who was lying peacefully in a bed. 

"See how peaceful she is? She was content with her robotic life." Rin faced her remaining family. "And so am I." 

Rin could feel her voicebox crackle. 

"Don't be sad, Len, Meiko. Thanks to the KOKORO, I could finally be truly alive, even for just a moment." Rin lifted her head and gazed at them lovingly. "I can finally feel grateful for all my family has done for me. Len... Miku... Meiko... Kaito..." Tears began to escape again, for the last time. 

"Arigato..." Rin whispered. "Minna..." 

 

* * *

 

Meiko held Len's hand as they stood in front of the three tombstones.  

"We're the only family left, Len."  

"Yeah," Len said. He swore that this would be the last time he would cry. He knew that his sister had wanted to see him smile, even after her death. 

"They were all amazing, in their own ways." 

"We'll always remember, won't we, Meiko?" Len said. 

Meiko nodded and looked at the sky. 

The whites of the clouds were so white. The blues of the sky was so blue. The world was breathing, living. 

"Always," she said. 

**Author's Note:**

> You made it to the end! ;; u;;;; You're amazing, thanks so much!  
> What was the best/worst line? I was laugh-cringing so much as I retyped this thing. 
> 
> also, damn u len
> 
> ✿ Song Credits ✿  
> ココロ (Kokoro) by トラボルタP (ToraborutaP) : https://vocadb.net/S/1357  
> 逆さまレインボー (Sakasama Rainbow) by すんｚりヴぇｒP (sunzriverP) : https://vocadb.net/S/7922  
> 炉心融解 (Roshin Yuukai) by iroha(sasaki) : https://vocadb.net/S/3022  
> melody... by mikuru396 : https://vocadb.net/S/2734 (More specifically, ussyP's PV: https://vocadb.net/S/13347) 
> 
> ussyP's PV looks janky by modern standards, but there's like so much nostalgia in that PV for me! For it's time, it's a very well-made PV!
> 
> post-edit: so. apparently, this was the longest piece of literature on my calculator. no wonder re-typing all of this was a pain in the asphalt


End file.
